Singles Awareness Day
by CausticRaven
Summary: An alternate name for Valentine's Day among the lovelorn and the alone, Yu finds himself in the Junes food court with his guy friends. However, he's not too concerned about today, and why would he be? P4, Yu/Marie


The four boys sat at a quiet table, alone amongst plastic chairs and abandoned tables. It seemed as if they were the only four at the place.

What place was it? Well, it was the food court of Junes, the local, mega-sized department store in Inaba. Normally, the place was rather busy and bustling, and the food court wouldn't be any kind of exception.

So what was so special about today that made it so dead? Right… Today was February 14th. Valentines Day.

Yu Narukami didn't really have much experience with Valentine's Day before now. He always treated it as another day, and it wasn't going to be an exception today. Sure, some of the girls at school had given him chocolate, but that wasn't anything too special, right?

"…Yosuke, why do you look so hopeful?" One of the boys asked. This one was Teddie, and he was currently dressed in his bear costume. While it made him look like a common mascot to everyone else, it was his true form as a Shadow from the world on the other side of the TV. Yosuke turned to look at the bear and he had a strange look on his face. The best way that Yu could describe it was a mixture of embarrassment and surprise.

"Hopeful?" He remarked, trying to play it off as him being aloof. "What're you even talking about?" He fiddled with the pair of orange headphones around his neck and looked down at the ground.

A woman approached the table that the boys were at, an apathetic look on her face. Yu had to wonder what exactly she was doing here, but he didn't really pay it much thought. Yosuke noticed in a heartbeat, and once again resumed his failed attempt at trying to play things aloof.

"Excuse me…" She asked in a calm tone. Not even had the words left her mouth was Yosuke up out of his seat and at attention.

"Yes!" Yosuke responded, his voice cracking a little bit. Yu did his best to hide a smirk as he drank from his can of soda.

"Where's a trash can?" At this point, the empty can and paper bag in her hand made a lot more sense. Upon seeing this, Yosuke deflated quicker than a balloon being stabbed by a pin and sighed.

"The… trash can. Right. It's over there." He pointed in the general direction of a trashcan and sat back down. He hung his head in defeat and let loose a long sigh of agony. Once again, Yu had to hide a smirk by drinking from his can of soda.

"Give it up, Yosuke." The bear remarked. "It's over. You're only going to get yourself hurt. You'll see."

"Shut up! Don't give me that crap!" Yosuke sounded defensive, defeated and desperate all at the same time. "You don't understand the true strength of a man's heart."

"_That sounds like some crazy thing Teddie would normally say- I'm pretty sure Yosuke's lost it now."_ Yu thought to himself.

"I know there's nobody waiting for me… But I can't give up hope now! It's my only defense against the Valentine's Monster!"

"_Valentine's Monster? Alright, now's he really lost it…"_ Yu took a moment to pause though. He doubted that he was in any sort of position different to Yosuke's. Hell, there wouldn't be anyone waiting for him when he got back home from this. Well, Nanako would be, but that's not the same thing.

"You're pathetic, Yosuke!" Teddie remarked, chipper as always. "I saw that you got some chocolates from Chie-chan and some other girls!"

"So what? It was 100% friendzone, Junes-bought chocolate anyways. And you ate it!" Teddie patted his belly in delight upon bringing that up, which elicited another sigh from Yosuke. "Look, when White Day rolls around, you'd better be paying me back for all that chocolate!"

"Don't you worry! All the ladies will get _Teddie's Love." _Yu and Yosuke both shuddered at that- saying that around any girl would guarantee physical retribution.

"What're you even doing here, Yu?" Yosuke asked, changing the subject. "I thought that out of all of us, you'd be the one with dates." Yu gave an apathetic shrug.

"I don't have a serious girlfriend. Really." He added the last part as defense against some incredulous looks from Yosuke.

"Oh, bullshit, man!" Yu's friend seemed to immediately call foul, just as he was expecting. "You think that for all the times you hung out with the girls, you'd be dating at least one of them."

"Do I need to repeat myself, Yosuke?" Yu asked, shooting him a glare, to which got Yosuke to back off. Thank god.

…The fact of the matter is, Yu was lying to Yosuke in saying that. He **did** have a serious girlfriend, but he just wouldn't expect her to do anything for today. He wasn't even sure that she knew this day was a thing. But he didn't want to explain that to anyone here- at least not now.

"Hey Yosuke, your brother Kanji-kun is acting weirder today." The boys turned to look at Kanji, who had, up to this point in the conversation, been deathly quiet. He hadn't said a word since he sat down, instead occasionally checking his phone and feigning interest in whoever was talking.

…Far be it for that the thing to focus on, Yosuke instead turned to Teddie and asked "What? Why are you suddenly calling him my brother?"

"You're brothers-in-nobody's-arms! Family that's lonely together is bro-nly together." Yu coughed. For the longest time, that may have been one of the worst things he had ever heard.

He then felt his phone go off in the pocket of his white coat, to which he pulled it out, letting the defensive bitching coming from Yosuke turn into white noise as he read the message he just got.

"Sorry, but I have to go, guys." He didn't say much after nor did he listen to whatever anyone else had to say, as he left as quickly as he could, in the direction of home.

* * *

Yu's speed decelerated from a full on run to a brisk walk as he approached the Dojima household. What was different from before is that a young woman who was improperly dressed for the occasion was standing out, waiting for him. She looked like she had something in her hand, and when she noticed he was here, gave a sigh.

"You're late." She greeted him, annoyed.

"Marie… I'm sorry. I got here as fast as I could and-"

"Whatever. You don't have to apologize." She gave him a rare smile. "It's not your fault." She turned to face him and quickly gave her the box she was holding. It was festively decorated with red wrapping paper and a small red bow. Upon taking the gift from her, Marie started to blush.

"I… have chocolate. You can have it." Yu looked at the box, and noticed two things right off the bat.

The first thing was the smell. Over the past year, Yu had been around some terribly prepared food, and yet this was nothing that he was experienced with or had any past recollection of this smell. This was a smell new to him, which made him worry.

The second thing was a sense of squirming in the box. Whatever was in there certainly felt like it was moving. Recalling previous nightmares that involved moving foodstuffs, Yu wanted to drop the box and destroy it until whatever was in there gave a final squelch beneath his heel.

"That room doesn't have any eclectic loutwits. I tried the best I could, but I don't know if it turned out okay." Yu looked and saw the genuine look in Marie's blue eyes and sighed. This was certainly a labour of love from the girl, and he had to do his best to enjoy it. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Marie. It should be wonderful." Marie's blush deepened on her face and she began to play with her fingers.

"Oh… Um, yeah." The girl was reduced to cute stammering after a compliment or two, which Yu found endearing. "Y-you're too straightforward. Ihateyoustupid." Marie had this tendency to jumble up words and speak quickly when she was mad or embarrassed, and Yu realized this was one of those times. "…But that's why you're so popular."

"Uh…" Yu paused before Marie was able to regain her composure.

"You can eat it, y'know. If you don't hurry, it'll melt." She paused. "If it melts, it'll run away." The fact that she said that like it was a normal, everyday occurrence made Yu genuinely concerned for his well being upon the thought of even **putting** this chocolate in his mouth.

Yu said a brief prayer to gods in his head before returning and seeing that Marie was blushing again.

"When you eat it… I want you to tell me if it was good or not. Right now." Having no other choice other than to accept his fate, Yu undid the ribbon and opened the box.

…Despite all the pictures his mind painted for him of some horrible, sentient chocolate monster that Marie had cooked for him using otherworldly utensils and means, the taste was quite normal. Some of it was actually pretty good- it was sweet on the tongue and smooth going down. Before he knew it, Yu had finished the entire box.

It was his turn to blush as Marie looked at him with incredulous eyes.

"You ate it all? That's incredible! Are you stupid?" Marie asked, not much care for berating her own cooking skills.

"…I don't understand." Yu replied. "I just couldn't stop… it was so good, but I…" He sighed, unable to find any words to explain just how his mind, body and stomach all worked in unison to finish Marie's treat.

"Well… if it makes my work worth it." She paused before trying to hide herself under the brim of her hat. "I guess Valentine's Day isn't some sort of ritual. I looked it up. I thought it was some big event… Y'know, like a turning point in your life." Not wanting to correct her, Yu remained silent. "I'm so lame. I was fooled. I feel stupid."

"Sometimes though, it is like that. People do things out of love for another person and sometimes, that can lead to much bigger things along the road." Marie was caught off guard by his explanation and her eyes widened.

"But… it's not like that! I didn't make the chocolate because I was supposed to… No! That makes it sounds like I'm serious! Well, I am serious but…" Marie's emotions were getting into a jumble again and she was getting flustered about not knowing the words to properly say.

Feeling like a plan B was necessary, Yu grabbed Marie by the black tie she wore and enveloped her into a kiss. Marie was caught off guard and protested for a few moments by lightly attacking Yu's chest with her fists, but she melded with him into the romantic gesture before long. Her hands ran through Yu's silver hair and his linked around her waist in a protective embrace.

"Look." She began, wanting to get this out. "I don't really get it, but it turns out I don't just like you. I wanna be with you. Forever and ever." She paused to place another kiss on Yu's lips- this one short and sweet. "I love you. I love you so much."

Yu could smell nothing but the faint, sweet aroma of chocolate in the air as Marie and him locked lips again in the cold. A chilly wind blew past them, but neither of them seemed to mind. Rather, the two of them were absorbed in their own expression of love for one another.

They broke only for a moment as the two lover looked upward to see snow falling from the sky.

"I have to get back." Marie explained, not wanting to break the tight hug her and Yu had made for themselves.

"Surely you couldn't stay… for just a little while longer?" Yu asked.

Marie didn't think twice about her answer as she pulled him in for another kiss.

* * *

**A/N: This is a weird one. I wrote this what seemed like an eternity ago, and I'm only publishing it now because it fits with the holiday. I based this off of the Valentine's events you get with Marie and the one you get from the guys (providing you chose/got stuck with them)**

I would post this actually on Valentine's day, but I probably won't have computer access that day. Regardless, Yu/Marie is actually pretty adorable, and probably my favourite pairing in Persona 4 Golden.

**Enjoy! It'll be slow updating for the next little while, but I'll have a lot to post hopefully when that's over.**


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